3 arrested for smuggling liquor, 155 bottles worth ₹6.35L seized from Thane

The Thane excise department, on Friday, arrested three people for smuggling liquor from Goa to evade paying excise duty.

The Thane excise department, on Friday, arrested three people for smuggling liquor from Goa to evade paying excise duty.

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The trio used to purchase liquor from Goa and pack them in bottles in Nalasopara. They were then sold at a higher price.

The department has seized 155 bottles of 750 ml worth ₹6.35 lakh along with empty bottles, labels and bottle caps.

Ananda Kamble, inspector of state excise department, said, “One of our flying squad team was patrolling along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway on January 3. We were checking all private cars on the highway.”

“We intercepted a car near Sativali Phata road in Nalasopara and found over 155 liquor bottles stashed inside,” Kamble said.

Kamble added that all the three accused, Ramkishore Nissad, 31, Mukhlala Rambhavan Nirmal, 35, and Bhavani Din Ramgopal Nissad, 46, are residents of Nalasopara.

The department officers searched their houses and recovered several empty bottles, labels and bottle caps.

“The trio bought liquor from Goa and bottled it in Maharashtra using duplicate labels and caps to evade excise duty. We have seized the liquor and arrested them under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code,” he said.